King softball rolls into WNEPSSA title tilt

Published 8:00 pm, Sunday, May 16, 2010

By ALEX MORSANUTTO

Times Correspondent

STAMFORD -- Rolling into the Western New England Prep School Softball Association (WNEPSSA) Tournament with a 13-0 record, the top-seeded King softball team had all the momentum it needed to post a 16-1 victory over No. 4 seed Wilbrahm & Monson Academy on Saturday, May 15, to advance to the championship game on Sunday, May 16.

Senior pitcher Kaitlyn Della Jacono (12-0) was a catalyst for King, pitching a solid game while helping her own cause offensively. Della Jacono pitched a one-hitter, with 11 strikeouts and one walk, while going 4-for-5 at the plate with a home run, double and four RBIs.

"Going into the game, we had good momentum coming off our 13-0 regular season," said King head coach Karen Cella. "I have good leadership. My seniors, my pitcher and catcher, which are the catalysts, are the backbone to the team. Offensively and defensively, they drove us to this point. We came out today (Saturday) hitting, executing bunting, like we've done all season; and I think everything just worked together today."

In the top of the first inning, with one out, Ashley Drost walked for Wilbrahm & Monson Academy. On an attempt to steal second base, King made an errant throw to second resulting in the ball rolling into the outfield. This provided enough time for Drost to score what would be its only run.

King fired back in the bottom of the first inning with a four-run rally and five consecutive hits. Julia Bonnell (2-for-5) led off the inning with a single to left field. Followed by an infield single by Della Jacono, catcher Casey Correa (4-for-5) blasted a two-run triple over the left fielder's head to put King on the board.

Casey Howard-Johnson (2-for-5) would continue the rally by slapping a single to right field and driving in Correa. After stealing second base and advancing to third on an errant throw, Howard-Johnson would score on Melanie Tremesani's (2-for-4) infield-single to make it 4-1.

After that point, the Vikings continued to produce runs and not look back.

Pitcher Della Jacono was lights out. Being ahead by so many runs early on in the game gave her the opportunity to mix in a variety of different pitches, she said.

"It's awesome to play with a lead," said Della Jacono. "It's the best thing that any pitcher can ask for. It just gives me a sense of confidence knowing that I have a little bit of security if anything goes wrong."

And a lot of security was provided. The Vikings would go on to score 12 unanswered runs on 12 hits.

Wilbrahm & Monson Academy's Alyssa Natorio had the only hit for her team, belting a triple down the right-field line in the top of the third inning.

For a softball program that only started four years ago, Wilbrahm & Monson Academy has made a quick progression, making it into the tournament for the first time in school history.

"I was very pleased with our team making it to the tournament," said coach Erik Kindblom. "For us to make the tournament this year, which was our goal, is a huge success. It's great to play a well-coached team with a lot of good athletes, a lot of good softball players, because now we know what we need to do to get to the next level."

King, on the other hand, has been in this position before with two championships in the WNEPSSA in 2007 and 2008, and a runner-up finish last year.

"We really just wanted to win, we wanted to make it to tomorrow (Sunday)," said Della Jacono. "We've wanted to win this since last year."

Coach Cella was excited about the momentum her team had going into the championship game Sunday.

"Hopefully, the momentum that we had today carries into tomorrow," said Cella. "That will help us going into our Fairchester Tournament, which starts on Monday, which is more important to us."

Correa went 4-for-5 with two triples and four RBIs. Riley Jay, Victoria Uva and Lindsay Mcllmurray each contributed hits in King's win.